


Needles and Strings (or Grandma Knows Best)

by yehwellwhatever



Category: American Idol RPF, The Anthemic
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 02:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehwellwhatever/pseuds/yehwellwhatever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal has a secret. If anyone found out he'd probably be excluded from the band.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Needles and Strings (or Grandma Knows Best)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to lire_casander, daisiesdaily, princessleia04 all @ LJ and dishonestdreams for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Neal’s got this secret. One that no one knows about, not even Andy. They’ve been best friends for ten years; more than that for almost five, and have been telling each other everything for most of that time. This however, this is a secret no one will ever know about.

It’d all started when he was fifteen, when his mother caught him smoking. They’d made a deal, that he would have to help out at the senior citizen home every weekend for six months, longer than that if he hadn’t quit smoking by the time those months were over. He never did quit.

As it turned out, he couldn’t just sit around reading books to the ones who were too blind to see themselves. No, he had to help with everything - couldn’t just spend his time doing the same thing. He’d managed to avoid some of the more embarrassing things for the first couple of months. After that, things had gotten interesting. He’d lost a bet, learning that you never make a bet with an old lady, no matter how nice she seems.

He had to learn how to knit. _Knit_ of all things. He was sure there wasn’t anything more uncool in the world. It had been difficult at first, either turning out too loose or too hard. Yet every weekend he’d sat there and knitted, and eventually grown to love it. If Andy, or any of his other friends for that matter, had found out about it, he would never have lived it down.

So far though, no one had found out, mostly because he was still only doing it at the senior citizen home and none of his friends ever set foot there, or when he was sure no one was around. At the time he’d just been glad that no one ever asked where he disappeared to in those hours in the middle of the day every Saturday and Sunday. Because even though he’d turned eighteen, and was legally old enough to do what he wanted to do, he’d continued going. He had a lot of good memories from there.

When Dave had gone and won American Idol, things had changed. All of a sudden he was roped into playing guitar on Dave’s record, eventually moving to Los Angeles and touring with Dave, Andy, Joey and Kyle, and later - after Joey left - Monty.

It was difficult, but he still managed to keep his secret to himself. Like right now, the other guys are out in the common area of the bus, drinking and winding down after the show. Neal, however, has been hidden in the back area, with the proper bed that had come with this new bus for the year, claiming a headache. It’s not that he doesn’t drink, he’s pretty sure he loves the booze more than anyone in the band, but sometimes knitting helps him relax better than any amount of booze ever could.

Neal’s glad that they’re all friends, that he was friends with Dave long before this madness they call tour started. Being friends with the lead singer means that even though the private space is technically Dave’s, they all share it. Two days in a row each, which means four in a row for Neal and Andy, since they share a bed as often as they get a chance.

Dave hadn’t been happy at first when he realized that it would be like that, stating that it was unfair that they would get four nights of proper sleep while the rest of them would only get two. When Neal had suggested that he should find someone in the band to share with, he was sure Dave had been close to punching him.

There was a slim to none chance of that happening, since Kyle stated instantly that _hell no_ , he wouldn’t share a bed with Dave even if he got paid for it. He was married, and he certainly wasn’t a whore. Monty had mockingly hit on Dave, freaking the man out to the point where he’d thrown his hands up in the air like a diva and called _fine_ , before going up front to talk to the driver.

So, yeah, even though it’s technically Neal’s night to have the bed, he knows that Andy will show up when he’s ready. That’s why he’d locked the door, better to be safe than caught in the act and mocked for all eternity.

He’s not sure how long he’s been lying on the bed and knitting when he hears the rattling of someone trying to open the door. “Hang on,” he calls, looking around to find a place where he can hide the knitting.

“What the hell, Neal? Since when do you lock the door?” Andy calls, his voice slightly muffled through the door. “What are you doing in there? It’s not like all of us haven’t seen you naked already.” More rattling. “Come on!”

He can hear Andy getting impatient, and unable to find a place to hide the knitting, he shoves it under one of the pillows, before jumping up and unlocking the door. “Hey,” he says, flashing Andy what he hopes is his regular smile.

He doesn’t quite succeed, he guesses, if the look on Andy’s face is anything to go by. “Hey, what were you doing?”

“Nothing, just… nothing,” Neal says, flashing another smile as he grabs Andy’s hand to pull him into the room and onto the bed. Andy’s mostly still in the air when they start kissing, and with a slight shove, he falls back onto the bed, head between the two pillows.

“Ouch,” Andy groans, shuffling a little as Neal climbs up to straddle his hips.

“Sorry,” Neal says, kissing down Andy’s neck in apology, thinking that he must’ve pushed harder than he intended. “You okay?” he asks, when Andy won’t stop shuffling.

“Hang on, okay?” Andy says, sitting up. “There’s something under the pillow.”

The words take a second to register with Neal, and when they do, he can feel his eyes widen in horror. “No, don’t!” he nearly yells, as Andy puts his hand under the pillow and yanks. There’s no way the words haven’t carried out to the rest of the guys, even through the closed door. If they have managed to miss them, Andy’s laughter is sure to clue them in.

“Neal, what’s this?” Andy manages to ask between fits of laughter, his brown eyes twinkling.

“It’s… nothing. I don’t know how that got there, okay?” Neal says, trying for innocence, knowing it’s a futile attempt.

“Neal Andrew Tiemann, were you _knitting_?” Andy asks, his head resting on Neal’s shoulder now. Neal can still feel him laughing, but at least it’s muffled now.

“No…” Neal says, shrugging Andy off and moving to get off the bed. He doesn’t get far though, with Andy grabbing his wrist and keeping him in place.

“How long have you been knitting, Neal?” Andy asks, just as the door flings open to reveal the rest of the band.

“Neal’s knitting?” Dave asks, and he’s laughing so hard he nearly doubles over before he’s even gotten a reply. Of course the it doesn’t take long for Kyle and Monty to join in, which sets Andy off again.

“Fine, you guys laugh it up,” Neal says, and he might be pouting a little. “I’m gonna go get a drink.” Only, he doesn’t get very far, since the doorway is blocked by his three friends. He can feel Andy making a grab for him again, still laughing, but he pushes past Dave out to the common area of the bus.

Taking a shot of Jack straight from the bottle, Neal starts to relax. Then he takes another. And another. He doesn’t know how long it takes before he hears footsteps coming closer, he’s been sitting on the couch with his eyes closed for a couple of minutes, at least. “Hey, Doc, talk to me,” Andy says, his voice gentle and free from laughter, his foot poking Neal’s, prompting him to open his eyes.

His eyes instantly fall on the knitting, still firmly in Andy’s hand. “What do you want?” he asks, sighing.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me you knew how to knit?” Neal can see that Andy’s trying to be serious about this, but the tone of his voice is mocking.

“Because I knew this was how you’d react, and I didn’t feel like being mocked, okay?” The words come out harsher and more defensive than Neal intended, but Andy just smirks back at him.

“Actually, actually I think it’s kind of hot. And incredibly cute. Who’d have thought that the great Neal Fing Tiemann knew how to knit?” This time the chuckle does escape with the words.

“You’re still mocking…” Neal says, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest for effect.

“Sorry, sorry.” Andy puts his hands up in surrender and shrugs. “So tell me? How did you learn how to knit? Your grandma taught you or something?”

“Mom caught me smoking when I was fifteen, said I had to help out at the senior citizen home until I quit. I think we both know I never did quit. After a few months there, or weeks - I can’t really remember, this old lady made a bet with me. I lost, and the deal was I had to learn how to knit. She’d started to get arthritis, so she couldn’t do it as much anymore. She was one of those who knit quilts and baby clothes for charity. So I started doing it for her. I actually started to enjoy it. It’s relaxing.” Neal pauses and takes a deep breath as he realizes that he’s rambling. “It’s just not something you share, you know?”

“But we’re usually able tell each other anything.” Neal can hear the hurt and disappointment in Andy’s voice this time. Maybe this was the kind of story he _should_ have shared sooner.

“This isn’t just anything, Andy. This is incredibly embarrassing.” If the sound of his voice hasn’t made it clear just how embarrassed he is, Neal is sure the heat he can feel covering his cheeks will get the point across.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. So you’re in touch with your feminine side, we already knew that. You paint your nails Neal, you’re not exactly hiding it, you know?” Andy says, taking a hold of Neal’s hand and stroking his thumb across his knuckles. “Besides, I do find it incredibly hot.”

“Really?” Neal nearly snorted, and then he saw the look in Andy’s eyes. _Oh_.

“Really,” Andy said, grinning.

Neal really can’t stop himself as he pulls Andy close, kissing him with all the feeling he can muster. He isn’t sure how long they’ve been kissing, but he groans when Andy pulls away, both of them gasping for breath.

“Will you teach me sometime?” Andy asks, the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes completely sincere.

“They’ll mock us _forever_ ,” Neal says, snorting. “We’re gonna be excluded from the band because we’re too much like grandmothers.”

“You might have a point…” Andy says, chuckling. “It’ll just have to be our secret then.”

“Hate to break it to you,” Dave’s voice came from the gap between the common area and the bunks. “But the secret’s already out. Who would have thought two of my best friends would have turned out to be not only queer, but complete women?”

**The end**

**Author's Note:**

> Written for tankshallkill @ LJ. Inspired by the prompt _Knitting_.


End file.
